The Short List: Western Mass Aging, Early Ed Funding, Marijuana Tasting

Marijuana activists celebrated outside the Mass. State House on Dec. 15, 2016, the first day pot became legal in the Bay State. Here, Ellen Brown holds a handful of pot.

Gintautas Dumcius
/ MassLive

Our panel of journalists looks at the big stories in the news.

What made The Short List this week?

The populations in Berkshire and Franklin counties are dropping, while growth is slow in Hampden and Hampshire counties. That's according to new census data. And a story this week in the Springfield Republican dives into the challenges this graying population raises, from schools to town finances.

Governor Charlie Baker this week issued an unexpected funding boost for early childhood education providers. Since universal pre-K was a big issue in the 2014 campaign season, was this a real down payment or a political gesture?

In recent months, we've stuck to policy and politics when it comes to the new marijuana law. But one of our panelists is kind of an expert of the more recreational side of the now-legalized drug. We explore marijuana tastings and talking to kids about pot.